Instability
Instability noun - The quality or state of not being firmly fixed in position.
Usage example: the instability of the bridge became tragically apparent when it suddenly collapsed
Nearby Word: instance
Stability
Stability noun - The ability to withstand force or stress without being distorted, dislodged, or damaged.
Usage example: the bridge was designed with such great stability that it supposedly will not collapse even under the harshest weather conditions
How words are described
| emotional | emotional instability | emotional stability |
| high | high instability | high stability |
| physical | physical instability | physical stability |
| low | low instability | low stability |
| Other adjectives: natural, certain, current, poor, massive, great, serious, economical, social, inherent, fragile, mental, psychological, general, political, greater, economic, financial, global, aerodynamic, long-term. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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International relations studies term this the stability-instability paradox.
Source: Sword of Damocles -
The first years of the new Republic of Peru were marked by political and economical instability, alternating between wars with it's neighbors and coup d'etats, it wouldn't be until the government of Ramon Castilla around the 1850's that the country achieved a lengthy period of stability.
Source: Useful Notes / Peru - However, in the sense that the electron jumps practically instantly from one place of stability to a completely different place, across an intervening zone of instability, it can still be considered a tremendous leap, which therefore has the same sense as the popular notion of a "quantum leap."
Source: Useful Notes / Quantum Physics
Cite this Source
Stability and Instability. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/instability/stability
Instability & Stability. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/instability/stability>.
Stability or Instability. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/instability/stability.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "instability" and "stability" have occurred on timeline